Electro therapeutic



(No Model.)

'J.OHARLES.- ELECTED THERAPEUTIC APPLIANGB. No. 355,059. v Patented DecrZ8, 1886,

12115 Attorneys.

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' ATENT C rr es.

JAMES CHARLES, OF RIDGEVILLE, INDIANA.

ELECTROI-THERAPEUTIC APPLIANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 355,059, dated December 28, 1886.

Application filed Juy 29, 1885.

To aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JAMES CHARLES, acit-izen of the United States, residing at Ridge ville, in'the county of Randolph and State of Indiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Electric-Appliances, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to electro-therapeu-' tie appliances to be worn on the body for the cure of certain diseases; and it consists of one or more electric batteries suitably shaped for being worn on different parts of the body, in combination with one or more electrodes, also shaped to fit different parts of the body, the said electrode or electrodes being common to all the batteries worn by the patient.

It also consists of certain details of construction and combination, which will be fully de scribed hereinafter, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is an elevation, partly in section, of an electrode designed to be applied to the back over the kidneys. Fig. 2 is a similar view of a battery to be worn over the bowels. Fig. 3 is a similar View of a chest-battery. Figs. 4 and 5 represent, respectively, a knee and a foot battery; and Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of the battery shown in Fig. 2.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 6, the battery D consists of a zinc faceplate, f, which is perforated, as shown, a brass back-plate, g, a central copper plate, e, and suitable insulating material for keeping the plate from electrical contact. To insulate the zinc and copper plates I employ a flannel clot-h, i,which lies between the plates and is turned back over the edges of the brass and copper plates between the said plates and the turned-over edges of the zinc plate. The brass and'copper plates are made smaller than the zinc plate to admit of this construction. As a further means'of insulation, a strip of silk cloth, [1, is held between the copper and brass plates, as shown, and folded over the edge of the latter. This is de- Serial No. 172,987. (No model.)

(copper and zinc) and derange the working of the whole apparatus.

The plate f is to be worn next "the body. The battery is charged by saturating the fiannel cloth through the perforations in the plate fwith vinegar or some other suitable acid. In practice I perforate also the copper plate, so that the acid may have easy access to the entire surface of the plate. The function of the brass plate is to prevent the acid from passing through into contact with the clothing of the patient. 1

7c represent copper securingstraps, which are first doubled and passed over the toothed loops of buckles Z, and are then passed through openings made in the brass plate 9 near the ends thereof. Openings are made in the silk cloth coincident with the turned-back ends of the copper straps, so as to have said ends directl y in'contact with the copper plate 6.

The buckles Z Z serve to attach the battery D to a belt, B, that passes around the body of the patient and holds the battery and the electrode A, to be hereinafter described, in their proper positions in contact with the body. An insulating conducting-wire,0, connects the copper plate of the battery D with theelectrode A. The latter consists of two zinc plates, a 1), between which a flannel cloth, 0, is interposed, without, however, insulating the two plates, asone of them is bent over and around the edge of the other. To increase the electrical conductivity of the electrode, the flannel cloth, 0 is saturated with vinegar or some other liquid, the inner plate, I), being perforated to admit the conducting-fluid. Besides serving to admit a fluid, the perforations in plate B, together with the flannel cloth 0, also serve, after the cloth has been saturated, to keep the outer surface of plate B moist, and so in condition to afford closer electrical contact with the body. The belt B passes through loops t t, which are secured to the back of plate a.

The batteries E, F, and G (illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5) are varied in form to suit them to the portions of the body to which they are to be applied; but in other respectsthey are identical with the battery D, already described. A band, in, is attached to the chest-battery, so as to form a means for suspending the latter from the neck of the patient. Batteries F and G also have bands or tapes n and 0, respectively, by means of which they are secured in place.

The copper plates of all the batteries are connected by insulated wire with the electrode A. That being the case, the onlyreturn for the battery-circuits after they are charged and secured in place is through the body of the wearer. The body being a conductor of electricity, it is evident that currents will pass between the electrode A and each of the batteries with which it is connected. These cur: rents are foundto be medicinal in their efi'ects, and especially corrective of diseases which arise from bad circulation of the blood.

It is obvious that I need not be confined to a single electrode, as A; but I may employ more than one, or an electrode of ditferent shape for application to a different part of the body. I

By having the copper plates inclosed in all the batteries, the corrosion of the said plates is prevented from coming in contact with the skin or the clothing of the wearer. The perforations in the zinc plates admit the charging-acid, and also the perspiration from the body, which, to a great extent, renders the batteries self-charging, as will be readily understood.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with two or more battery-cells located at difierent parts of the body and having one element in electric contact therewith, of a common electrode connected by a conductor withthe other element and located at a separate portion of the body, and means for holding the batteries and electrode in place, substantially as set forth.

2. An electrode to be applied to a' portion of the body, the same consisting of two plates of similar metal separated by a material capable of absorbing liquids, the inner plate being perforated, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In' an electric battery designed to be applied to the human-body, a copper plate, a

larger perforated zinc plate, and a piece of cloth or other absorbent material between the said plates, the piece of cloth or equivalent material extending outside the two plates and being held between the edge of the copper plate and the bent-overedge of-the zinc plate, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own Ihave hereto afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES CHARLES.

Witnesses:

LA SALLE F. BAILEY, SYLvENUs B. PAYNE. 

